EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Modern societies are increasingly based on information and knowledge. So they need to:

„ build workforces which have ICT skills to handle information and are reflective, creative and adept
at prob-lem-solving in order to generate knowledge
„ enable citizens to be knowledgeable and resourceful so they are able to manage their own lives
effectively, and are able to lead full and satisfying lives
„ encourage all citizens to participate fully in society and influence the decisions which affect
their lives „ foster cross-cultural understanding and the peaceful resolution of conflict.

These social and economic goals are the focus of a country’s education system. Teachers need to be
equipped to achieve these goals, and UNESCO has created an international benchmark which sets out the
skills required to teach effectively with ICT: UNESCO’s ICT Competency Framework for Teachers.

UNESCO
UNESCO’s Framework emphasizes that it is not enough

ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

for teachers to have ICT skills and be able to teach them to UNDERSTANDING ICT IN EDUCATION
their students. Teachers need to be able to help the
CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT
students become collaborative, problem-solving, crea-tive
learners through using ICT so they will be effective citizens PEDAGOGY
and members of the workforce. The Framework therefore
ICT
addresses all aspects of a teacher’s work:
ORGANISATION AND ADMINISTRATION
The Framework is arranged in three different approaches
to teaching (three successive stages of a teacher’s devel- TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
opment). The first is Technology Literacy, enabling
students to use ICT in order to learn more efficiently.
The second is Knowledge Deepening, enabling students to acquire in-depth knowledge of their
school subjects and apply it to complex, real-world problems. The third is Knowledge Creation,
enabling students, citizens and the workforce they become, to create the new knowledge required for
more harmonious, fulfilling and prosperous societies. 3

THE UNESCO ICT COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHERS

TECHNOLOGY KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE
LITERACY DEEPENING CREATION
UNDERSTANDING ICT IN Policy awareness Policy understanding Policy innovation
EDUCATION
CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT Basic knowledge Knowledge application Knowledge society
skills
PEDAGOGY Integrate technology Complex problem Self management
solving
ICT Basic tools Complex tools Pervasive tools
ORGANISATION AND Standard classroom Collaborative groups Learning organizations
ADMINISTRATION
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL Digital literacy Manage and guide Teacher as model
LEARNING learner
The details of each module are set out in Appendix 1. Examples of how these modules can be turned
into syllabi and exam specifications are provided in Appendix 2.

The Framework is intended to inform educational policy makers, teacher-educators, providers of

professional learning and working teachers on the role of ICT in educational reform.
 1 INTRODUCTION

There is an emerging broad consensus worldwide about the benefits that can be
brought to school education through the appropriate use of evolving information
and communication technologies. The range of possible benefits covers practi-
cally all areas of activity in which knowledge and communication play a critical
role: from improved teaching and learning processes to better student outcomes,
from increased student engagement to seamless communication with parents,
and from school networking and twinning to more efficient management and monitoring within
the school. All in all, this is not surprising since the windows of opportunity that ICT offers for
the develop-ment of knowledge economies and societies are open also for education.
UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

Using ICT effectively

A number of issues may hinder schools and teachers in their efforts to fully benefit from these
windows of oppor-tunity. They may not be able to afford the equipment, they may lack access to the
internet, or suitable materials might not be available in their own language. However, a fundamental
issue is whether teachers know how to use ICT effectively in their teaching.

Clearly, the way ICT is used will depend on the subject being taught, the learning objectives and the nature
of the students. Nonetheless, it is important to set out the basic principles which should guide the use of
ICT in teaching, and this is what the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT) project
does. The Framework project draws attention to the many ways in which ICT can transform education. ICT
offers engag-ing and fast-evolving learning environments, blurs the boundaries between formal and
informal education and prompts teachers to develop new ways of teaching and enabling students to learn.
Ultimately, it requires education to re-think what skills and competencies students need to become active
citizens and members of the workforce in a knowledge society.
4

The Framework project

In view of the importance of ICT for education, UNESCO conducted an extensive consultation to
identify the competencies that teachers should develop to use technology effectively in the classroom.
This work resulted in the UNESCO ICT-Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT), which was
first published in 2008 in three booklets, namely:

„ Policy Framework which explained the rationale, structure and approach of the ICT-CFT project
„ Competency Framework Modules which explained how three stages of educational development could be
mapped against six aspects of a teacher’s work to create a framework of 18 modules of teacher competencies
„ Implementation Guidelines which provided detailed specifications for each module 1.

1 These guidelines provided a framework in six skill sets: curriculum and assessment, pedagogy, the use of
technology in the classroom, school organization and administration, and teacher professional learning. It is
important to note that this document was intended to be a dynamically evolving set of guidelines which would
be periodically updated to reflect evolving changes in ICT.
This Version 2 ICT-CFT reference document incorporates the above components which identify three approaches
to teaching, namely “Technology Literacy”, “Knowledge Deepening”, and “Knowledge Creation”. Since 2009,
UNESCO has been developing examples of syllabi and exam specifications, and these are now available for the
first two approaches: Technology Literacy and Knowledge Deepening. They form appendices to this Framework
reference document. A glossary of terms used in this document has also been added.

The Framework argues that teachers need to use teaching methods which are appropriate for
evolving knowl-edge societies. Students need to be enabled not only to acquire an in-depth
knowledge of their school subjects but also to understand how they themselves can generate new
knowledge, using ICT as a tool. For some teach-ers, perhaps for many teachers, these will be novel
and challenging ideas, and it will take time for teachers to understand these new approaches to
teaching. It will also require strong leadership from the government, from those responsible for the
education and professional learning of teachers, and from headteachers and school principals.

How to use this document

The module specifications and the examples of syllabi and exam specifications which form the detailed reference

UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

appendices of this document are intended to guide teachers in how to make the best use of the ICT available in
their schools to improve students’ learning. These appendices can guide governments in shaping their education
policies. They can serve as a reference source for providers of professional learning. For teacher-educators,
these appendices can be used to develop full curricula for courses on ICT skills. The appendices also provide the
basis for qualifications certifying that a teacher had acquired the Framework competencies.

But above all this document should be read as an important statement by UNESCO on how teacher-
education, particularly in developing countries, can increase the effectiveness of teachers and enable
school students to become engaged and productive members of the knowledge society.

5
 2 THE PRINCIPLES

The policy context

UNESCO’s education policies and projects

Education is a central function of any nation or community. UNESCO and the UN see education as
having the following aims:
UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

„ inculcating the community’s core values and passing on its cultural legacy
„ supporting the personal development of children, young people and adults
„ promoting democracy and increasing participation in society, particularly among women and minorities „
encouraging cross-cultural understanding and the peaceful resolution of conflict, improving health and
well-being
„ supporting economic development, reducing poverty and increasing widespread prosperity.

The ICT Competency Framework for Teachers project is part of a range of initiatives by the UN and its special-
ized agencies, including UNESCO, to promote educational reform and sustainable economic development. The
Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Education for All (EFA), the UN Literacy Decade (UNLD), and the Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) all aim to reduce poverty and to improve health and the qual-
ity of life, and they view education as an important contribution to these goals. 2 They aim to promote the equal-ity
of women and men and advance the human rights of all citizens, particularly for minorities. These projects all view
education as key to economic development, as a way of enabling people to fulfil their potential and take
increasing control over decisions that affect them. They all see education as a right of all citizens. In addition, the
EFA and DESD emphasize the quality of learning, both what is learnt and how it is learnt. UNLD and EFA focus
6 on literacy as a key part of learning and education. EFA, DESD and UNLD emphasize the informal learning that
takes place outside the school system, as well as learning in school. The UNESCO International Commission on
Education for the 21st Century3 views learning throughout life and participation in the society of learning as the
key to meeting the challenges posed by a rapidly changing world. The Commission emphasizes four pillars of
learning: ‘learning to live together’, ‘learning to know’, ‘learning to do’, and ‘learning to be’.

The Framework project: linking ICT, education and the economy

The ICT-CFT project embraces the goals of these education programmes and UNESCO’s and the UN’s
aims of educa-tion. Like these programmes, the ICT-CFT emphasizes poverty reduction and improved
quality of life. Like the EFA and DESD, it emphasizes improvements in the quality of education. It shares
with several of the programmes a focus on literacy, and like the UNLD, it also argues for a broader definition
of literacy. In keeping with the International Commission, it stresses life-long learning, new learning goals
and participation in a learning society that is based on knowledge building and knowledge sharing.

However, the ICT-CFT project supports these programmes by building on the relationship between ICT use, edu-
cation reform and economic growth. The ICT-CFT is based on the principle that systemic social and economic
growth is the key to poverty reduction and increased prosperity. It is also based on the assumptions,articulated

2 UNESCO. 2005. Links between the Global Initiatives in Education. Paris, UNESCO.
3 Delors, J., et al. 1999. Learning: The Treasure Within. Paris, UNESCO.
in the UNESCO report Education in and for the Information Society4 that ICT can be a driver for
growth and empowerment, with profound implications for improving education.

At the same time, the ICT-CFT project agrees with the International Commission that all-out economic
growth is at odds with equity, respect for the human condition and wise management of the world’s
natural assets. Like the DESD, the ICT-CFT seeks to balance human well-being with sustainable
economic development, and bring them into alignment through systemic education reform.

Three factors of economic growth

Traditional economic models associate growth in economic output with increases in input factors. A nation’s companies
purchase more equipment and employ more workers, which economists call capital accumulation. Early in its
development, Singapore used this approach by providing inexpensive labour to assemble electronics components for
multi-national companies. China is currently using this approach. However, as Singapore realized, this approach to
growth is not sustainable; eventually, additional capital returns smaller and smaller gains in output.

Another way in which a nation’s economic growth can occur is by increases in economic value generated

UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

by its citizens. ‘New Growth’ economic models emphasize the importance of new knowledge, innovation
and the development of human capacity as the sources of sustainable economic growth. Education and
human capacity development enable individuals to add value to the economy, contribute to the cultural
legacy and participate in social discourse. Education enables them to improve the health of their family and
the community and to conserve the natural environment. It is through access to high-quality education for
all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion or language, that these personal contributions are multiplied and
the benefits of growth can be equitably distributed and enjoyed.

Economists identify three factors that lead to growth which is based on increased human capacity:

„ capital deepening - the ability of the workforce to use equipment that is more productive than
earlier versions
„ higher quality labour - a more knowledgeable workforce that is able to add value to economic output
„ technological innovation - the ability of the workforce to create, distribute, share and use new knowledge.

Three approaches of the Framework

These three productivity factors serve as the basis for three complementary, somewhat overlapping, 7
approaches that connect education policy with economic development.

„ Increasing the extent to which new technology is used by students, citizens and the workforce by
incor-porating technology skills into the school curriculum — which might be termed the
Technology Literacy approach.
„ Increasing the ability of students, citizens, and the workforce to use knowledge to add value to
society and the economy by applying it to solve complex, real-world problems — which could be
called the Knowledge Deepening approach.
„ Increasing the ability of students, citizens, and the workforce to innovate, produce new knowledge,
and benefit from this new knowledge — the Knowledge Creation approach.

THE THREE APPROACHES OF THE FRAMEWORK

TECHNOLOGY LITERACY KNOWLEDGE DEEPENING KNOWLEDGE CREATION

4 Guttman, C. 2003. Education in and for the Information Society. Paris, UNESCO.
 As pointed out in the UNESCO report, Capacity Building
THE SIX AREAS of Teacher-Training Institutions in Sub- Saharan Africa5
OF A TEACHER’S WORK (TTISSA), UNESCO’s aim is to bring teacher education
into alignment with national development goals. These
three approaches enable education to help develop a
UNDERSTANDING ICT IN EDUCATION
country’s economy and society, from one which uses new
technology, to one which also has a high-perfor-mance
CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT workforce, and finally to one which is a knowl-edge
economy and information society. Through these
PEDAGOGY approaches, a country’s students, and ultimately its citi-
zens and workforce, acquire increasingly sophisticated
ICT skills needed to support economic, social, cultural and
environmental development, as well as an improved
ORGANISATION AND ADMINISTRATION standard of living.

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING The ICT-CFT focuses on teachers in primary and sec-
ondary schools. However, these approaches gener-
Teachers

ally apply to all levels of education: primary, second-

ary, vocational and tertiary education, as well as to
on-the-job learning and continuing education. They also have implications for different educational
stake-holders: not just teachers but also students, principals, ICT co-ordinators, curriculum leaders,
UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for

administrators, professional learning coaches and teacher-educators. Because the ICT-CFT is based
on theories of economic growth, it may also inform policies and programmes in government ministries
which deal with economic and social development.

Education reform

The use of new technologies in education implies new teacher roles, new pedagogies and new approaches
to teacher education6. The successful integration of ICT into the classroom will depend on the ability of
teachers to structure the learning environment in new ways, to merge new technology with a new
pedagogy, to develop socially active classrooms, encouraging co-operative interaction, collaborative
learning and group work. This requires a different set of classroom management skills. The teaching skills
8 of the future will include the ability to develop innovative ways of using technology to enhance the learning
environment, and to encourage tech-nology literacy, knowledge deepening and knowledge creation.
Teacher professional learning will be a crucial component of this educational improvement. However,
professional learning has an impact only if it is focused on specific changes in teaching.

The Framework therefore specifies the competencies which teachers need in all aspects of their work.

5 UNESCO. 2005. Capacity Building of Teacher-Training Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Paris, UNESCO.
6 Makrakis, V. 2005. Training teachers for new roles in the new era: experiences from the United Arab Emirates ICT
pro-gramme. Proceedings of the 3rd Pan-Hellenic Conference on Didactics of Informatics. Korinthos, Greece.
 3 THE MODULES

By crossing the three approaches to teaching based on human capacity develop-

ment— technology literacy, knowledge deepening, and knowledge creation—with
the six aspects of a teacher’s work— education policy, curriculum, pedagogy, ICT,
organization and professional learning—a framework of 18 modules is created.

THE FRAMEWORK
TECHNOLOGY KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE
LITERACY DEEPENING CREATION

UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

UNDERSTANDING ICT IN EDUCATION 1 1 1

CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT 2 2 2

PEDAGOGY 3 3 3

ICT 4 4 4

ORGANISATION AND ADMINISTRATION 5 5 5

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING 6 6 6

The approaches represent different stages in the use of ICT in education. The approach which a country
adopts will depend on the extent to which ICT is integrated into its society, economy and education system.

Technology literacy
TECHNOLOGY 9
The policy goal of the technology literacy approach is LITERACY
to enable learners, citizens and the workforce to use
UNDERSTANDING ICT
ICT to support social development and improve
IN EDUCATION
economic productivity. Related policy goals include
increasing enrolments, making high-quality resources
available to all, and improving literacy skills. Teachers
PEDAGOGY
should be aware of these goals and be able to identify
the com-ponents of education reform programmes that
corre-spond to these policy goals. Corresponding
changes in the curriculum entailed by this approach CURRICULUM AND
might include improving basic literacy skills through ASSESSMENT
technology and adding the development of ICT skills
into relevant cur-riculum contexts.
ICT
This will involve setting aside time within the traditional
curricula of other subjects for the incorporation of a
range of relevant productivity tools and technology ORGANIZATION
resources. Changes in pedagogical practice involve the AND ADMINISTRATION
use of various ICT tools and digital content as part of
whole class, group and individual student activities. TEACHER
Changes in teacher practice involve knowing where PROFESSIONAL
and when (as well as when not) to use technology for LEARNING
 classroom activities and presentations, for management tasks, and for acquisition of additional subject
mat-ter and pedagogical knowledge in support of the teachers’ own professional learning. Little
change in social structure of the class occurs in this approach, other than perhaps the placement and
integration of technology resources in the classroom or in labs to ensure equitable access. The
technologies involved may include com-puters along with productivity software; drill and practice
software, tutorials, and web content; and the use of networks for management purposes.

In the early stages of development, teacher competences related to the technology literacy approach
include basic digital literacy skills and digital citizenship, along with the ability to select and use
appropriate off-the-shelf educational tutorials, games, drill-and-practice software, and web content in
computer laboratories or with limited classroom facilities to complement standard curriculum
objectives, assessment approaches, unit plans, and didactic teaching methods. Teachers must also
be able to use ICT to manage classroom data and support their own professional learning.

The example below shows what the Technology Literacy approach might look like in practice.

TECHNOLOGY LITERACY IN THE EVERYDAY WORK OF A TEACHER

UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

UNDERSTANDING A mother-tongue teacher understands the basic principles of using ICT in teaching, so she
ICT IN EDUCATION considers how to make the best use of an interactive whiteboard recently installed in her
classroom. Until now, she has only used it as a projector screen.
CURRICULUM The teacher realizes that using word processing on the interactive whiteboard would offer AND a
new approach to one of the basic skills in the curriculum - how to improve the wording of ASSESSMENT
sentences. Word processing allows words to be changed and moved around without having to
endlessly re-write whole sentences on paper.
Word processing can also be used for formative assessment. She composes a long, badly
worded sentence which she will give all the students on their computers and ask them to
see how many different improved versions they can produce within five minutes.
PEDAGOGY Using the word processing application, the teacher displays on the interactive whiteboard
some examples of poor writing. She demonstrates how, with a few changes in the choice
of words and the word order, sentences can be made simpler and clearer.
Then, by questioning the class, offering them suggestions and pointing out
10 weaknesses in sen-tences, she gets them to improve some further examples of
writing. She makes the changes on the interactive whiteboard as the students
suggest them, so the whole class can see the process.
Finally, she sits down to one side of the room and asks students to come to the interactive
whiteboard and operate it themselves to show how they can improve sentences.

ICT Initially, the teacher uses a word processing application on the interactive
whiteboard while conducting a discussion with the class.
In the next lesson, each student uses a laptop computer. Since the laptops and the teacher’s
computer are networked, the teacher can easily display on the interactive whiteboard interest-
ing examples of re-worded sentences which the students have been able to devise in the five
minute test. The whole class can then discuss and evaluate different wordings.
ORGANIZATION For second lesson, the teacher uses the school’s trolley of laptop computers so that each stu-
AND dent is able to carry out word processing on their own. She devises the two lessons in such
ADMINISTRATION a way that students will know exactly what to do in the second lesson, without the need for
questions or discussion. This ensures the students make the fullest use of the
laptops while they are available to them.
Using the school’s computer network, the teacher records her students’ grades on a
central file which other teachers and the school administration can also access.
TEACHER The teacher searches various websites for mother-tongue teachers to find teaching resources
PROFESSIONAL on writing skills, including exercises and writing assignments, stimulus material and ideas for
LEARNING lessons.
Knowledge deepening
The aim of the knowledge deepening TECHNOLOGY KNOWLEDGE
approach is to increase the ability of LITERACY DEEPENING

students, citizens, and the workforce to

add value to society and to the economy
by applying the knowledge gained in UNDERSTANDING
ICT IN EDUCATION
school subjects to solve complex, high-
priority problems encountered in real
world situations of work, society and in
life generally. Such problems might relate
PEDAGOGY
to the environment, food security, health,
and conflict resolution. With this
approach, teachers should understand
policy goals and social priorities and be CURRICULUM AND
able to identify, design and use specific
ASSESSMENT

UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

classroom activities that address these
goals and priorities. This approach often
requires changes in the curriculum that
emphasize depth of understanding over ICT
coverage of content and assess-ments
that emphasize the application of
understanding to real-world prob-lems.
ORGANIZATION
Assessment focuses on complex
AND
problem-solving and incorporating ADMINISTRATION
assessments into learning activities. The
pedagogy associated with this approach
includes collaborative problem- and TEACHER
project-based learning in which students PROFESSIONAL
explore a subject deeply and bring their LEARNING
knowledge to bear on complex, every-day
questions, issues, and problems.
Teaching is student-centred and the teacher’s role is to structure tasks, guide student understanding and to
support students as they tackle collaborative projects. Teachers help students create, implement and moni- 11
tor project plans and solutions. Lessons and classroom structure are more dynamic, with students working
in groups for extended periods of time. In guiding students’ understanding of key concepts, teachers will
employ open-ended ICT tools that are specific to their subject area, such as visualizations in science, data
analysis tools in mathematics and role play simulations in social studies.

Teacher competencies related to the knowledge deepening approach include the ability to manage informa-tion,
structure problem tasks, and integrate open-ended software tools and subject-specific applications with student-
centred teaching methods and collaborative projects in support of students’ in-depth understanding of key
concepts and their application to complex, real-world problems. To support collaborative projects, teachers should
use networked and web-based resources to help students collaborate, access information, and commu-nicate
with external experts to analyze and solve their selected problems. Teachers should also be able to use ICT to
create and monitor individual and group student project plans, as well as to access information and experts and
collaborate with other teachers to support their own professional learning.

The example below shows what the Knowledge Deepening approach might look like in practice.
 KNOWLEDGE DEEPENING IN THE EVERYDAY WORK OF A TEACHER
UNDERSTANDING A PE (physical education) teacher is frustrated that many of his students are not interested
in ICT IN EDUCATION physical exercise and do not understand the importance of physical fitness as part of a
healthy lifestyle. He thinks he can use ICT to change their attitudes and help them become fitter, so he writes a
detailed financial bid to the school administration, explaining in detail why the ICT
would improve the PE lessons and help students learn.
CURRICULUM The PE teacher uses the ICT to focus on issues of health which he had not been able to make
AND vivid and engaging before. Now he is also able to include in the curriculum information about
ASSESSMENT human physiology. These topics had previously been too abstract and theoretical to explain
easily, but now he is able to show them computer simulations (videos and
animations) of the physiological processes which make them easy to understand.
In these ways, the students achieve a deeper knowledge of PE.
He is also able to carry out formative assessment much more efficiently because he can
now record students’ performance in the gym with a digital video camera. He shows these
video recordings to the students to help them understand how to they need to move their
limbs dif-ferently. Students who previously could not understand what they were doing
wrong in certain motions can now see instantly what they need to do.
UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

PEDAGOGY Previously, he had only been able to talk to the students about the health
benefits, which the students did not find very interesting, but now he is able to
show them dramatic clips from films, sporting events and music and dance
videos which feature athletic celebrities and make fitness look very attractive.
He then organizes the students into collaborative groups so they can devise their own fitness
assessments, such as seeing how quickly their heart rates return to normal after exercise. They
analyse their assessments and each student comes up with recommendations for a fit-ness
program for one of the others in the group. They set up a collaborative spreadsheet to track
their progress over the next month. As they go through their fitness programmes, they comment
and support each other on a social networking site.

ICT The teacher obtains:

„ a laptop computer and a data projector so that everyone in the class can see
computer display
„ video clips from the internet
„ PE and human physiology simulations and animations
12 „ simple data capture devices such as heart-rate sensors which record data
directly to the computer
„ spreadsheet software for students to record their fitness assessments each week
„ a digital video camera to record students’ movements and use of the fitness
equipment in the gym.
The students also use other computers at school and at home to access the shared
spread-sheet and the social networking site. Some students use their mobile phones
to post their daily fitness programme achievements on the networking site.
ORGANIZATION The PE teacher only has his own laptop and a data projector in the gym for showing video
AND material, but by getting the students to help with the videoing in the gym and by playing back
ADMINISTRATION the video clips on both the camera screen and the computer screen he is able to arrange PE
activities in such a way that all the students are able to see a video clip of themselves in the
gym at least once in each lesson or to record the results of their weekly fitness assessment.
The teacher uses his laptop to monitor the students’ entries on their collaborative
spread-sheet, and to post on the social networking site encouraging comments
and extra information on fitness programmes.
TEACHER The teacher regularly visits an internet discussion forum hosted by the professional associa-
PROFESSIONAL tion for PE teachers. The forum is a useful source of new ideas on how to get students more
LEARNING interested in PE and exercise. He, for example, posts a question asking for technical advice on
an aspect of a new fitness programme the students want to try out.
Knowledge creation
The aim of the knowledge creation approach is to increase productivity by creating students, citizens, and a
workforce that is continually engaged in, and benefits from, knowledge creation, innovation and life-long learn-ing.
Teachers, in this approach, should not only be able to design classroom activities that advance these policy goals
but also participate in the development of programmes within their school that advance these goals. With this
approach the curriculum goes beyond a focus on knowledge of school subjects to explicitly include the knowledge
society skills that are needed to create new knowledge. These are skills such as problem solving, communication,
collaboration, experimentation, critical thinking and creative expression. These skills become curricular goals in
themselves and the objects of new assessment methods. Perhaps the most significant aim is for students to be
able to create their own learning goals and plans—to establish what they already know, assess their strengths
and weaknesses, design a learning plan, stay on-task, track their own progress, build on successes and adjust to
failures. These are skills that can be used throughout a lifetime to participate in a learning society. The role for
teachers is to overtly model these processes, structure situations in which students apply these skills, and assist
students in their skill acquisition. Teachers build a learning community in the classroom in which students are
continuously engaged in developing their own and each others’ learning skills. Indeed, schools are transformed

UNESCO ICT Competency

into learning organizations in which all its members are involved in learning. Teachers can then be seen as model
learners and knowledge producers who are constantly engaged in educational experimentation and innovation in
collaboration with their colleagues and outside experts to produce new knowledge about learning and teaching
practice. A variety of networked devices, digital resources, and electronic environments are used to create and
support this community in its production of knowledge and anytime, anywhere collabo-rative learning.

KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE

Framework for Teachers

TECHNOLOGY
LITERACY DEEPENING CREATION

UNDERSTANDING
ICT IN EDUCATION

13
CURRICULUM AND
ASSESSMENT

PEDAGOGY

ICT

ORGANIZATION
AND ADMINISTRATION

TEACHER
PROFESSIONAL
LEARNING
 Teachers who are competent in the knowledge creation approach will be able to design ICT-based learning
resources and environments; use ICT to support the development of knowledge creation and the critical think-ing
skills of students; support students’ continuous, reflective learning; and create knowledge communities for
students and colleagues. They will also be able to play a leading role with colleagues in creating and implement-
ing a vision of their school as a community based on innovation and continuous learning, enriched by ICT.

The example below shows what the Knowledge Creation approach might look like in practice.

KNOWLEDGE CREATION IN THE EVERYDAY WORK OF A TEACHER

UNDERSTANDING A geography teacher takes a leading role in organising an ICT-based project for
students in ICT IN EDUCATION collaboration with the history teacher and the maths teacher. The project
is about the recent arrival in the local community of numerous immigrants from a nearby country which is
expe-riencing political and economic turmoil. The project involves investigating the reasons for the
immigration, and understanding the everyday conditions and issues which the immigrants
face.
CURRICULUM The project addresses parts of the curriculum in three subjects: in geography (understanding
AND growth and change in communities), history (the recent history of their own country and its
UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

ASSESSMENT relations with nearby countries) and maths (the use of graphs and charts to analyze and display
complex statistical information) . The students suggest further aspects that could be
consid-ered, for example the impact of the recent immigration on the local community.
The students, reflecting on the aims and purposes of the project, devise
assessment rubrics which they will use throughout the project to assess their
own and each other’s work, in col-laboration with their teachers.
Students create knowledge in at least three ways.
„ They create new historical and geographical knowledge about this local instance of
im-migration (for example, the facts, figures, interviews, life-stories and other
findings and conclusions which would be of value to a local history museum).
„ They discover that the immigrants have great difficulty in obtaining some of their traditional
foods. This commercial knowledge of a new market demand is passed to local shopkeepers.
„ The students discover that much local prejudice towards the immigrants is
founded on myths and misinformation. For example an immigrant school
cleaner who was assumed to be from a poorly educated background is in fact
14
a civil engineer. Local knowledge and understanding is thereby increased, and
the potential for conflict between the communities is reduced.
PEDAGOGY The teachers act as monitors and coaches to the students, ensuring the students have the
skills and knowledge they need, advising them of methods they could use, ensuring the
stu-dents stay focused on their tasks and meet the deadlines they have agreed.

ICT The students use:

„ the internet to obtain detailed background information about the immigrants,
the condi-tions in their immigrants’ country, including email contact with
students at a school in the immigrants’ country
„ spreadsheet programs to analyze and display statistics about emigration and
immigration flows, and related economic conditions
„ graphics applications to create posters put up in local centres asking for
volunteers from the immigrant community to be interviewed for the project
„ digital cameras and audio recorders to make video or audio recordings of interviews
with immigrants about their personal histories and their experiences in the host country
„ word-processing software to make notes, write up their findings and evaluate their work
„ presentation software to create presentations, including video clips and still images, to
present their findings to others.
KNOWLEDGE CREATION IN THE EVERYDAY WORK OF A TEACHER
 ORGANIZATION
AND
ADMINISTRATION

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

The teacher creates environments on the school’s learning management system (the school’s computer
network) which allow students to store, share and develop their work collabora-tively. This includes areas for
shared files, wikis and a discussion forum.

The geography teacher regularly shows other teachers how the project uses ICT to enable students
to generate knowledge while studying their school subjects.
She also explains to colleagues how the project, and her own role in it, has developed and im-
proved in the light of experience and experimentation. In this way, she acts as a model learner to
both her students and her colleagues.